Accessibility in Excel Mobile for Windows 10

The Excel Mobile app for Windows 10 includes accessibility features that make it easier for people with disabilities to create spreadsheets, filter data, work with charts, and more. For example, people who are blind or who have low vision can use screen readers to have information about the user interface (UI) read aloud to them. People who have limited mobility can use keyboard shortcuts or speech recognition tools instead of a mouse. This topic covers accessibility features available in the Excel Mobile app for many types of disabilities.

Notes:

The Excel Mobile app for Windows 10 is a mobile application, so the keyboard shortcuts and navigation may differ from those in the Excel desktop app.

Explore the Excel Mobile user interface

With the Excel Mobile app, you can create, update, and review spreadsheets, just as you can in the Excel desktop app (although the desktop app has more features). For more information on the features included with Excel Mobile or to download the app, go to Excel Mobile in the Microsoft Store or refer to Excel Mobile for Windows 10 Help.

If you’re a person who is blind or has low vision, or if you have limited mobility, it helps to know the landmarks in the Excel Mobile UI so you can more easily build a mental model of it to more quickly move around the UI.

When you start Excel Mobile, a navigation pane is displayed in the left side of the app window and a list of templates is displayed in the right side of the window. After you select a template or open an existing file from the navigation pane, you can use the main areas of the Excel Mobile UI (described in the following table), along with the specific elements in the UI, as landmarks in your mental model.

Function bar, which by default shows the Sum function. Shows the result of the function for the selected cells. Use the function bar to select a different function, such as Average, Count, Numerical Count, Maximum, or Minimum.

Use a screen reader and keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts enable people with disabilities to operate apps by using the keyboard rather than the mouse. The following are some frequently used keyboard shortcuts for Excel Mobile:

To move forward through UI elements, press the Tab key. To move back, press Shift+Tab. For some elements, you can also use the arrow keys.

To select the currently displayed tab on the ribbon, press Alt. Immediately after you press Alt, to move directly to the File menu, press Shift+Tab. To move between tabs on the ribbon, press the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys or press Ctrl+Tab. To move to the options for each tab, press the Down Arrow key and, to move back to the tab, press the Up Arrow key. To select an option, press Enter or Spacebar.

Use Tell Me

When you don’t know the keyboard shortcut or when you want to know about more options, use the Tell me what you want to do button.

Optional. Select the text, cell, or other Excel object you want to work with.

Press Alt+Q. You hear “Tell me what you want to do.”

Type a keyword or phrase, and then, to browse the search results, press the Down Arrow key. For example, for options related to fonts, such as italics and font size, type font. Some results may be submenus with more choices.

Operate the Excel Mobile app for Windows 10 with speech recognition

Speech recognition tools are helpful for people who have limited mobility and who need to use voice commands (rather than the keyboard or mouse) to operate Microsoft products, including the Excel Mobile app.

You can use third-party speech recognition tools or the functionality called Speech Recognition, which is included with the Windows operating system. To enable Speech Recognition on your computer, go to Use Speech Recognition.

Technical support for customers with disabilities

Microsoft wants to provide the best possible experience for all our customers. If you have a disability or have questions related to accessibility, please contact the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk for technical assistance. The Disability Answer Desk support team is trained in using many popular assistive technologies and can offer assistance in English, Spanish, French, and American Sign Language. Please go to the Microsoft Disability Answer Desk site to find out the contact details for your region.